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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Crop and Product Physiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1449157

Foliar application of sodium selenite affects the growth, antioxidant system and fruit quality of strawberry

Provisionally accepted
Yuanxiu Lin Yuanxiu Lin 1*Shuaipeng Cao Shuaipeng Cao 2Ziqing Sun Ziqing Sun 2Yin Liu Yin Liu 2Xiaorong Wang Xiaorong Wang 2Yunting Zhang Yunting Zhang 2Mengyao Li Mengyao Li 2Yan Wang Yan Wang 2Wen He Wen He 2Zhang Yong Zhang Yong 2Qing Chen Qing Chen 2Xiaorong Wang Xiaorong Wang 2Ya Luo Ya Luo 2Haoru Tang Haoru Tang 2
  • 1 College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 2 Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Selenium (Se) plays a vital role in various physiological processes in plants, it is regarded as an essential micronutrient for human health as well. In this study, sodium selenite solution at 10, 40, 70, and 100 mg•L -1 concentrations was foliar sprayed, and the strawberry plant growth, antioxidant system and fruit quality with an emphasis on sugar and acid content were assessed. The results showed that 10 mg•L -1 of sodium selenite treatment apparently promoted the plant growth, while all the treated concentrations could enhance photosynthesis, antioxidant system in leaves, the content of Se and ascorbic acid in fruits. More importantly, 40 mg•L -1 sodium selenite treatment significantly increased fruit weight, total soluble solid, and total phenolic content, anthocyanins, as well as improved the shape index. Whereas, it decreased the total flavonoid and proanthocyanidins content. Particularly, sodium selenite treatment at 40 and 70 mg•L -1 largely increased the ratio of soluble sugars to titratable acid. The changes of predominant sugars and organic acids during fruit development were further investigated. The sucrose, fructose and glucose content was upregulated by sodium selenite treatment through upregulating the activities of sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) and acid invertase, as well as the FaSPS expression. In addition, sodium selenite treatment inhibited the activity of citrate synthase and phosphoenol pyruvate carboxylase, rather than modulating their transcript levels to reduce the citric acid content. This work presented a potentially efficient approach to enhance plant growth and fruit quality and supplement Se in strawberry, providing insights into the mechanism of regulating sugar and acid metabolism by Se.

    Keywords: strawberry, Selenium, fruit quality, antioxidant system, Plant Growth

    Received: 14 Jun 2024; Accepted: 19 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lin, Cao, Sun, Liu, Wang, Zhang, Li, Wang, He, Yong, Chen, Wang, Luo and Tang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yuanxiu Lin, College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.